Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Animated Disney princess turns action hero, with messages about unity and honesty, in an Asian milieu. Not my genre but I didn't hate it. My favorite parts were Awkwafina as the voice of the dragon and the scenes where she flies and and swims. Battle scenes, not so much. Raya is voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, Namaari––love the hairdo––by Gemma Chan, and Namaari's mother by Sandra Oh.

Apparently Raya is only the fourth Disney princess without a love interest, after Merida in Brave, Elsa in Frozen, and Moana. I've yet to see Frozen II and Moana. The grandchildren adore those, as does Jack.

Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada are credited as directors and Paul Briggs and John Ripa as co-directors. I don't know the animation world so well and don't know how that works. The screenplay is by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim with six more story writers.

I did enjoy the score by James Newton Howard, available with a subscription to Apple Music and free on Spotify.

Though the filmmakers were careful to use only Asian voice actors, apparently there has been some controversy because most of them are from the "wrong parts" of Asia. The movie takes place in SOUTHEAST Asia, and only Tran is a native of that region. Oh well.

After I wrote about Awkwafina in The Farewell, I liked her silly sitcom Nora from Queens (her real name is Nora Lum). After Tammy, Oh won a Golden Globe for starring in Killing Eve. Chan was last blogged for Let Them All Talk, Estrada for Blindspotting, Lim for Crazy Rich Asians, and Howard for News of the World,

Tran has dozens of credits, including some Star Wars work, this is Hall's fourth feature, Briggs' and Ripa's feature (co-)directing debut after working other jobs in animated movies, and Nguyen has written some TV episodes.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are shining brightly, averaging 94%, and its audiences aren't dragging far behind at 86.

The grandchildren loved it so we gave it a look (separately, for now) after renting on Disney+ on March 11.